Town News

Town of Breckenridge Releases Initial Survey for Broadband Utility Project

Take Our Broadband Survey to Share What Your Internet Needs Are

Post Date:06/20/2018 9:09 AM

For Immediate Release:

June 19, 2018

Contacts:

Brian Waldes, Director of Finance

970-453-3382, brianw@townofbreckenridge.com

Haley Littleton, Communications and Marketing Coordinator

970-547-3144, haleyl@townofbreckenridge.com

Town of Breckenridge Releases Initial Survey for Broadband Utility Project

The Town of Breckenridge to begin demand assessment survey and design for municipally-owned broadband utility project. This survey is critical for helping the Town determine where to build the network and understand the demand.

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. –

The Town of Breckenridge is currently working with a partner organization, Foresite Group, to create an implementation plan for a municipal broadband infrastructure network. The overall goal of this project is to enable the community to own its broadband future by creating a reliable, high-speed fiber, open access infrastructure that can serve all of the Town’s connectivity needs into the foreseeable future.

The Town released an RFP in July of 2017 searching for a partner to complete an assessment and create a business plan to execute the design and build of a new fiber network that would provide better internet service to the entire community. Foresite Group presented its unique approach to broadband planning and executed an agreement in January of 2018 to complete a detailed assessment. The primary partners for this assessment are COS Systems and their COS Service Zones software for a demand aggregation study, Comsof and their FiberPlanIT software for auto-design of the network, and Continental Mapping for LiDAR collection and extraction.

“Broadband has become a utility that every resident and business owner must have to be successful,” comments Brian Snyder from Foresite Group. “The significantly faster speeds enabled by a fiber optic network can empower the community to investigate and experiment, express and challenge themselves, cross cultural boundaries and span economic divides. In an environment of access and opportunity new talent is exposed, art and culture advances, technology flourishes, dreams become solutions and realities are redefined.”

By constructing a fiber optic infrastructure, the project will provide for multiple service opportunities. These include high-speed internet service to homes and businesses, and could also include better cellular service and coverage, public Wi-Fi, smart parking and transit solutions, and real-time smart water metering. Collectively, these kinds of Town-wide programs are known as “Smart City” solutions.

“We are looking at creating an open-access network. Open access means multiple internet service providers can use our public fiber network to supply service to local homes and businesses,” says Brian Waldes, Town of Breckenridge Director of Finance. “And, since they would not have to install their own infrastructure to provide these services, the Town believes the result will be lower cost and better service. A municipally-owned, open access network will serve as a powerful tool to help the Town of Breckenridge meet many current and future challenges.”

The next stage in the project is to gather data and understand demand for broadband internet service in the Town of Breckenridge. By collecting information from those interested in signing up, the Town can begin to assess the next steps of construction location, design, and timeline.

Residents in Breckenridge and the surrounding unincorporated areas of Town are encouraged to complete a quick, easy survey about their current internet service. Residents can do so by visiting: townofbreckenridge.servicezones.net. There they can learn more about our broadband project and answer a few questions about current and potential broadband service. This survey is critical for helping the Town of Breckenridge determine where to build the network first and to determine demand for fiber across Town.